Relentless load shedding plagues Khulna, Barishal residents

Amid relentless heat, Khulna residents are now experiencing frequent load shedding as often as seven to eight times daily.

The ongoing crisis disrupts daily life for people across five districts in Khulna and Barishal divisions, as well as the Faridpur region.

Over the past two days, load shedding across 21 districts in southwestern Bangladesh has severely impacted essential activities, causing hardship for residents. Those who rely on electricity for daily tasks face acute challenges, with industrial production experiencing major disruptions. Rural areas reportedly bear the brunt of the load shedding, even more so than urban zones.

The West Zone Power Distribution Company (WZPDCL) manages the electricity supply for 21 districts, including 10 in Khulna Division, 3 in Barishal Division, and 5 in Greater Faridpur. WZPDCL's headquarters in Boyra, Khulna City, reports that these districts serve approximately 1.4 million electricity consumers, with around 245,000 in Khulna alone.

Industrial activities are also hampered. Humayun Kabir, director of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, explained that frozen shrimp exporters face challenges in maintaining cold storage temperatures during load shedding, leading to increased generator costs.

Mamun Haque, assistant engineer of Khulna Power Division 4, stated, "We're doing our best to provide power to the public, but we're helpless."

A WZPDCL official, speaking anonymously, said, "Power production has dropped due to the shutdown of several power plants. We are forced to implement load shedding to manage the shortfall, affecting not only Khulna but other districts as well."

As of Thursday at 1pm, demand across WZPDCL's 21-district service area reached 659 megawatts, but supply fell short at 560 megawatts, resulting in a 99-megawatt deficit. Khulna alone faced a load shedding of 45 megawatts, with other affected districts including Barishal (11 MW), Gopalganj (5 MW), Narail (2 MW), Magura (3 MW), Satkhira (2 MW), Kushtia (6 MW), Chuadanga (5 MW), Faridpur (6 MW), Rajbari (4 MW), Madaripur (4 MW), Shariatpur (2 MW), and Jhalokathi (4 MW). By nightfall, demand rose to approximately 700 megawatts across the 21 districts, with load shedding surpassing 100 megawatts.

Local residents expressed their frustrations.

Hajera Khatun, from Khulna's Nirala area, shared, "For the past two days, load shedding has been happening both day and night."

Imon Sheikh, a college student from Moulvibari, Khulna, noted, "Load shedding has returned to Khulna. It's hard to study in the heat during these outages. We hadn't needed candles for a while, but now we do."

Sabbir Hossain from Gunari village in Dakop upazila added, "In 24 hours, electricity goes out 7 or 8 times. Even in this heat, we can't run the fan. When the power goes, it doesn't return for an hour."